The Big Christmas Quiz

1 When is the earliest possible date for the first Sunday of Advent?

a) November 25 b) November 27 c) December 1

2 Which Gospel recounts the angels appearing to the shepherds to announce the birth of the Messiah?

a) Matthew c) Mark c) Luke

3 In Nat King Cole’s “Christmas Song”, what is roasting in an open fire?

a) Chestnuts c) Marshmallows c) Peanuts

4 What is the traditional opening hymn at the famous Carols from King’s service in Cambridge, England?

a) God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen b) Joy To The World c) Once In Royal David’s City

5 In which language would one say “ube neKrismesi emnandi” to wish you a merry Christmas?

a) isiNdebele b) SeTswana c) isiXhosa

6 What have Cary Grant, Denzel Washington and Henry Travers played in Christmas-themed movies?

a) Angels c) Priests c) Santa Claus

7 What is usually made with myrrh?

a) Paste b) Perfume c) Smoke

8 Which carol features the chorus “Gloria, in excelsis Deo”?

a) Angels We Have Heard On High b) Carol Of The Bells c) Ding Dong Merrily On High

9 What does Gaudete, as in the third Sunday of Advent, mean?

a) Expectant b) Joyful c) Third

10 According to St Matthew, what was the name of Joseph’s father?

a) Jacob b) Jesse c) Josiah

11 What is the name of the traditional German Christmas bread loaf?

a) Lebkuchen b) Spekulatius c) Stollen

12 In which country was the carol “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” written?

a) France b) Great Britain c) USA

13 Which pop star co-wrote the 1984 Band Aid charity record “Do They Know It’s Christmas” with Bob Geldof?

a) Bono b) George Michael c) Midge Ure

14 In Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, whose party do Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Present visit?

a) Bob Cratchit b) Fred c) Mrs Fezziwig

15 What colour is the star in Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity that marks the spot of Jesus’ birth?

a) Gold b) Silver c) White

16 When was the use of tinsel to decorate Christmas trees first recorded?

a) 1610 b) 1710 c) 1810

17 What nine things did my true love give me on the ninth day of Christmas?

a) Ladies dancing b) Maids a-milking c) Pipers piping

18 At Christmas of which year did Vasco da Gama name the eastern coast of South Africa Natal?

a) 1497 b) 1547 c) 1597

19 What does the gold which the Magi brought the baby Jesus symbolise?

a) Glory b) Kingship c) Power

20 What colour vestments do Catholic priests wear on December 28?

a) Gold b) Green c) Red

21 Which carol includes the lines, “While mortals sleep the angels keep their watch of wondering love/Oh morning stars together, proclaim thy holy birth”?

a) O Come All Ye Faithful b) O Holy Night c) O Little Town of Bethlehem

22 In which year did The Southern Cross publish its first Christmas edition?

a) 1920 b) 1921 c) 1922

23 Roughly how far is Bethlehem from Nazareth?

a) 50km c) 100km c) 150km

24 Where would you eat a traditional Christmas food called “wat”?

a) Ethiopia b) Cameroon c) Guinea

25 Who was the Soviet Union’s equivalent of Santa Claus?

a) Comrade Ice b) Father Frost c) Uncle Snow

Answers: 1. a) November 25; 2. c) Luke; a) Chestnuts, 4. c) Once In Royal David’s City; c) isiXhosa, 6. a) Angels (in The Bishop’s Wife, The Preacher’s Wife and It’s A Wonderful Life respectively); 7. b) Perfume; 8. c) Ding Dong Merrily On High; 9. b) Joyful; 10. a) Jacob; 11. c) Stollen (or “Christstollen”); 12. c) USA; 13. c) Midge Ure; 14. b) Fred (Scrooge’s nephew); 15. b) Silver; 16. a) 1610 (in Germany); 17. a) Ladies dancing; 18. a) 1497; 19. b) Kingship; 20. c) Red (Holy Innocents); 21. c) O Little Town Of Bethlehem; 22. a) 1920 (two months after it launched); 23. c) 150km; 24. a) Ethiopia; 25. b) Father Frost